In the advent of the digital age, the traditional spray and pray approach to marketing and advertising is ineffective, inefficient and simply irresponsible. Customers are more savvy, better informed and generally demand more from brands. Having data at our fingertips has given way to the full-on expectation to be treated as an individual rather than being bucketed within a larger audience. As marketers, we are all well aware of the need to deliver the right message, to the right audience, at the right time, but how can we scale messaging to thousands when it is meant to be unique?
1. Know Who They Are: Your Audience is People-Based
You can’t use the same line for every segment of your audience. People have distinct eccentricities–why not let those unique interests form the basis of your strategy?
Everyday, copious amounts of unstructured data created and shared online. Listen and respond to what your audience is saying. Understand how they communicate and respond accordingly. Depending on where they are and what they’re up to, people use different screens for different projects. They may engage with brands from their mobile devices, check and respond to emails on their tablets, and tweet from anywhere and by any means they can.
2. Know Where They Are : The Shift to Mobile
A recent article by Digiday shares that marketers are still spending the lion’s share of their budgets on television. Yet data shows that most folks are engaging with brands on their mobile devices.
Since 2012, the average amount of time spent consuming digital media via mobile devices has increased 612%, compared to a 2% increase in television viewership. With that understanding, marketers are beginning to spend more to woo mobile users rather than pouring entire budgets into TV airtime.
Keeping up with fluctuations in audience intelligence and connecting with them where they are provides digital boots on the ground to discern market trends. With such audience insight, you can stay connected with your customers.
“Fish where the fish are.” Know where your audience is engaging in terms of both device and channel.
3. Stand Out: You’re Not Like Those Other Guys
It is important for your brand to have an internal understanding of what makes you different. Equally so is for marketing teams to understand why an audience is loyal- or not- to one brand over others. Why are customers following your brand and not another? What makes your brand different from your competitors? Understand your own audience, what drives them to purchase and why they engage with your brand over others.
After all is said and done, your audience wants to connect with brands that they can trust. Once you understand why people are following you, exude the qualities that your audience cares about to keep them coming back for more.
The days of hoping you’ll get lucky and connect with the right audience are over. The tools for informed strategies and detailed audience intelligence are available; it’s up to you to put them to good use. Request a demo of the People Pattern platform to get started.
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